Found a letter with no address below a stack of old mail. All that's written on it is a name that doesn't belong to anyone in my household. Tried to search through social media and Google to find someone with the same name who may live in my area, but found nothing. It doesn't include a return address or my address either, I don't know how it got in my house other than if it was left on my doorstep. There's no way for me to mail it back from what I've tried. What do I do with this?
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It was "below a stack of old mail". How old? – Weather Vane Sep 24 '23 at 17:14
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Not more than a month or two. There's no yellowing/signs of damage on it at all. – snugasabuginarug Sep 24 '23 at 17:26
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When in rented accomodation, I would hand such mail to the landlord, on the grounds that it was probbaly intended for a previous tenant. – Weather Vane Sep 24 '23 at 17:28
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My family purchased this house a few years ago after our previous landlord passed away. We've been living here for a total of 13 years and haven't experienced any mailing mishaps like this in our entire time of living here. – snugasabuginarug Sep 24 '23 at 17:32
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Under one answer you say only the name. So no address and it was it hand delivered? There are missing details. You've been living there for 13 years, yet somehow there is mail that hasn't been looked at for months. Yet it was "on the doorstep". – Weather Vane Sep 24 '23 at 21:29
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Sorry for not responding to this comment earlier, I ended up opening it before tossing it. To answer your questions, the reason the mail wasn't opened and deemed "old" is because 6 family members live in my house. We don't always open mail, especially if it's unimportant, so this envelope was buried underneath the pile and only rediscovered today when I sat down and sifted thru it all. In my post, I admit that I didn't know how it got in my house, saying it was dropped off on doorstep is my only guess considering my mailbox is locked with a key. – snugasabuginarug Sep 25 '23 at 03:03
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Depends on which jurisdiction you are in. But if there is a stamp and a postmark, usually the best option is to write "addressee unknown" on the envelope and to give it back to the postal service. Then it is their problem.
In germany, that letter would be covered by the Briefgeheimnis. You may not open it or destroy it, but the service center of the post is allowed to do so if the outside of the envelope does not contain enough clues.
o.m.
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There is no post stamp, just the name of the individual. The envelope is entirely blank other than that. – snugasabuginarug Sep 24 '23 at 17:45
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You can either open it, or throw it away unopened. I personally would choose the later, but the law doesn't dictate your choice. You have no obligation to solve the mystery.
You might want to mention it to the other people in your household, however, as they might know what is going on (maybe someone, even a close family member, has a nickname that you aren't aware of, for example).
ohwilleke
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